A new national system for automatic license plates (ANPR) will be launched in September, the former having become unstable and overloaded. Police services will then start to connect 450 cameras to Brussels to combat organized crime and drug trafficking, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) announced on Saturday.
After the Paris and Brussels attacks, the federal government decided to deploy a network of ANPR cameras. The system has however become obsolete. Police services can no longer connect new cameras or control the average speed of journeys. In addition, data flows have increased considerably, resulting in stability problems.
An update had therefore become necessary. A modernized national platform, “Anpr@gpi”, will now be launched. It will bring together images of all connected, old and new cameras. Up to 5,000 cameras can be connected to it. If necessary, an extension to 10,000 is possible.
As announced previously by Bernard Quintin, Brussels police are the first to connect 450 ANPR cameras. A necessary step in the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking, according to it. The cameras will then be connected as a priority by province or region, depending on the needs identified. The operation should be completed by 2026.
The images will be made available to local and federal fonts. The analysis will now be done via “Focus-Anpr”, an advanced analysis tool developed by the Antwerp police. “This innovative technology offers our police unprecedented tools in the fight against crime, allowing agents to save time and efficiency, with a single objective: to guarantee the safety of the Belgians,” explains the Minister of the Interior.
The total investment for the new ANPR system amounts to 10.2 million euros over four years, funded by the Road Safety Fund. Legally, police services have access to images for a month. Any longer access requires the approval of the king’s prosecutor.
